From medical image data to a personalised 3D model of metastatic brain tumours: a pipeline for multimodal image processing, computer simulations, model stability and calibration.

Abstract

Brain metastasis is the most prevalent type of intracranial tumor in adults, affecting 10% to 30% of adult cancer patients. The risk of developing brain metastasis varies with the primary cancer type. Lung cancer patients have a higher likelihood of developing brain metastasis, accounting for nearly half of all cases, followed by breast cancer patients, who comprise 15% to 20% of cases. Although various treatment regimes, such as open brain surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, have been proposed over the years, the optimal treatment plan is unique to each patient. Therefore, in-silico models are crucial for understanding disease progression and treatment impact. Current thesis, propose a pipeline for creating a 3D finite element model of the brain-tumor and a mathematical model for tumor growth that incorporates treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). This thesis is part of the PROTEAS project who has received funding from the Cyprus Cancer Research Institute (C.C.R.I) bridges in research excellence (CCRI 2020 FUN 001).